dotdot: reborn

this is the "2.0" version of the dot matrix printer robot interface, hopefully more extensible this time.

the goal is mostly to be an exercise in writing a flask application.

things to keep in mind

this api will directly interface with a printer, for local testing, we are using an epson lq-1500 dot matrix printer.

api endpoints

• / [GET]: tests api functionality.
• /print [POST] send escaped and formatted POST data to printer.
  • /print/test [POST] prints predefined test page to printer.
  • /print/raw [POST] sends raw POST data to printer.
  • /print/ascii [POST] take input test and convert to large ASCII art text.
  • /print/image [POST] take input image and convert to ASCII art. (maybe just directly output??)
• /bell [POST] rings the printer bell.

setup

this project was setup using a python virtual enviroment and flask.

1. clone the repository with $ git clone git@github.com:makeopensource/dotdotbot.git
2. then change into the directory $ cd dotdotbot
3. setup your python virtual enviroment $ python3 -m venv venv
4. activate your new virtual enviroment with$ .venv/bin/active
5. install requirements using pip $ pip install -r requirements
6. finally, run the app using flask $ flask run